He overlooks that overwhelming riches did little to stop Spain's rapid decline as a power (it may have even accelerated it to some extent). Blaut seems to have discounted the fall of Constantinople and the subsequent fleeing of teachers and artists to the West as a factor.
What subsequent events does Blaut either overlook or underevaluate? For starters there are the beginnings of the scientific method in the West. Then there are things that muck up his argument like the advancement of western medicine (so much that even the Chinese would ask for western doctors in the 16th century, military improvements and numerous advancements in technology.
And so on and so on. I'm all for the remembering of contributions and influences from non-european societies, civilizations and cultures, but this "mea culpa" Western guilt has reached a bit of a height in Blaut's work. It also seems to reflect an emotional analysis rather than any unbiased academic approach.
In addition to technical, scientific, medical, and management advancement, he leaves out the social/philisophical advancement of the West.
The basic concept of the freedom and dignity of the individual, while not perfectly practised were almost unique in being applied to Western society. In fact the West is the first to look at itself and realize to this day it's failings vis a vis slavery, sexism, etc., in a sustained and critical way that other societies have yet to approach...Read this, but keep your wits about you as you do.
With strong, stimulating, engrossing, logical and brilliantly vivid arguments, this book deserves to be a recommended study at all schools wishing to nurture a socially analytical intellect. (But you do not have to go to school to read it... I didn't!)
The book does not assume prior social studies from the reader, in fact one of the main plus points of the book is that it takes pains to explain (in an extremely engrossing style) any complex concepts that are required for the analyses the author presents. The book is worth many times the money/ time spent on it just for the social science concepts illustrated.
One of the rare books that helps you broaden your vision and understanding of this world via a huge, well directed beam of light.
Though the book is an argument against a belief system (of European superiority and "priority"), Blaut takes care not to make it an argument against people holding those beliefs. Instead he delves deep into social and psychological theories to explain how the beliefs came about. It illustrates human-nature more than argue against the views held by a section.
I could go on trying to express the plus points of the book, but indeed, the material, handling and subject of the book are so well dealt with that I prefer to just suggest that you go out and read it. Trust me, the first few pages will hook you ...
